A guy ate 63 hot dogs and there was a mass shooting. America. The hot dog eating contest is reserved for the 4th of July, but we get the fireworks all year round. We got independence from England, but we can’t get independence from our remarkable lunacy when it comes to gun laws, where the freedom to parade around carrying killing machines trumps the freedom to attend an Independence Day parade with your family. “The man suspected of killing at least six people and injuring more than 30 others Monday morning during a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park planned the attack for several weeks before he climbed a fire escape ladder and fired on the crowd from the roof of a building … dressed as a woman in order to evade detection.” The gunman was able to get off more than 70 rounds with a gun obtained legally.

What do you call deadly gun violence that mars a peaceful family outing in America? The norm. In Chicago alone, 71 people were shot and 8 killed in 4th of July weekend violence. But don’t sling mud at the Mud City. While some people call Chicago Chi-raq due to its high crime rate, mass shootings are a hallowed American tradition from which we never take a holiday. Fourth of July weekend marred by violent shootings across US.